“Matthew silently continued his dusting.
‘Is that the James River?’
‘It’s a portion of it, madam.’
‘Is that darky trying to be smart?’”
On page 51 in Part II of Dark Princess, this brief reference is made to the James River: a river that likely runs by Towns’ county, one that has long been a key waterway in Virginia – in particular, for the movement and sale of slaves.
Knowledge of the James River as a major hub of the slave trade has largely been erased. Though for at least a century a section of the river at Richmond, VA, was used to unload ships of slaves for sale, only in 1998 did the city formally acknowledge the trade routes coming in and out of the city.
In thinking through the conduits of transporting people (by ship, for sale, or by train, for travel) in American expansionism, the afterlives of slavery, and Black cultural production, the James River also rings a bell as the former title for D’Angelo’s long-awaited third album.
D’Angelo, who hails from Richmond, Virginia, has had a critically acclaimed, deeply influential, yet tumultuous R&B/neo-soul career – one that sparks questions of desire and sexualization, substance abuse, fame; the history of Black musical movements, their cultural production as protest.
I recall reading, ages ago, that D’Angelo had chosen the James River in this context; of home, of slavery, of Black experience of America, all informing the music he would create during a decade-plus hiatus. I… can’t seem to find this source, from at least 4-6 years ago, anymore. So perhaps it never existed, or I imagined it. Either way, D’Angelo’s third album was eventually released in 2014, pulling together James Baldwin, police brutality, love, Black futurities; simply retitled Black Messiah.
Beyond all this potentially boring lore, and my scouring the net for traces of an apocryphal anecdote that will 110% verify my belief that D’Angelo was really thinking about the James River in this way, this speculative, tenuous connection hopefully opens a few questions about geographies, aftermaths, and messiahs.
A Discogs profile for the fake/leaked/compiled album:
https://www.discogs.com/DAngelo-James-River-Album-Prelude/release/3434518
A fake review of an imagined James River album from 2008(?):
https://web.archive.org/web/20111230005703/http://www.soulmusic.com/djrife.html
An odd “Travel” article discussing a visit to the river and its tours, museums:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/escapes-in-richmond-following-the-footsteps-of-the-slaves/2011/04/12/AF0rlpJE_story.html
1000 Deaths, off the eventual Black Messiah album:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2r5yqjlVrI